Heavy Vehicle Use Tax

Funding Our Nation's Highway Programs and Leveling the Playing Field

What Is the HVUT and
Who Must Pay It?

The heavy vehicle use tax or HVUT is a fee assessed annually on heavy vehicles
operating on public highways at registered gross weights equal to or exceeding
55,000 pounds. The gross taxable weight of a vehicle is determined by adding:

the actual unloaded weight of the vehicle fully equipped for service

the actual unloaded weight of any trailers or semitrailers fully equipped
for service customarily used in combination with the vehicle, and

the weight of the maximum load customarily carried on the vehicle and on
any trailers or semitrailers customarily used in combination with the vehicle

If the gross taxable weight is from 55,000 to 75,000 pounds, the HVUT is $100,
plus $22 per 1,000 pounds over 55,000 pounds. For over 75,000-pound vehicles,
the maximum HVUT is $550 per year. The table below illustrates these categories.

Gross Taxable Weight

Heavy Vehicle Use Tax Rates

Below 55,000 lbs

No tax

55,000-75,000 lbs

$100 plus $22 per 1,000
pounds over 55,000 lbs

Over 75,000 lbs

$550

There are a number of groups that receive exemptions from the HVUT, including: